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Billions of sleeping, sex-crazed cicadas are expected to re-emerge across the United States starting this month in an insect event that has not occurred in more than 200 years.
For the first time since 1803, the 13- to 17-year odd cycles of two different large broods of cicadas will finally intersect, triggering a deafening, noisy mating season for these insects in more than a dozen U.S. states.
Cicada experts say the two North American variations of the species can produce an alarming call of up to 105.9 decibels, or “as loud as a lawnmower.”
Owners can also make dogs and cats sick if they are not careful.
But while these strange, noisy creatures are already inspiring 911 calls for their biblical, pest-like swarms and raising the alarm about their unique fungal parasites, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes that cicadas do provide ecological benefits. clue.
One thing that makes the cicada so interesting is its ability to harden its exoskeletons, which takes about five days, shedding its old exterior so it can begin to fly.
The infestation is planned for 16 states, and some states like Illinois and Indiana will see both clusters around the same time.
Cicadas are a valuable food source for birds and other predators,” the US EPA said.
And, through the burrows that young ‘nymphs’ dig to avoid predators and feed on tree root sap, ‘cicadas can aerate grass and improve water filtration into the soil,’ according to the EPA.
Here’s what cicadas will likely do during this historic summer wave.
Cicadas make a lot of noise.
“When they say it’s as loud as a lawnmower, it’s as loud as a lawnmower,” Dr. Paula Shrewsbury, a professor of entomology at the University of Maryland, said of the insects’ chorus of noise.
‘We live near an airport, and when the planes fly over […] cicadas increase their sound level,” Shrewsbury said cnn this April, “it’s like they’re competing with airplanes for sound.”
While cicada songs vary depending on the species, noises always play a vital role in their communication, reproduction and even defense for each variation of the insect.
But it’s the cicadas’ mating song that Americans can expect to hear the most this year.
Male cicadas will produce their loud, high-pitched moan well into the night as they attract their mates, vibrating thin, ridged parts of their exoskeleton, called tymbals, at a staggering 300 to 400 sound waves per second.
According to the University of Connecticut, cicadas from the Southeast and Midwest will arrive by the billions
The two baby cicadas that will arrive in 2024 are expected to live about a month
The noise, sometimes described as a pulsing, salt-and-pepper-shaker-like hum and sometimes a piercing moan, is magnified by the hollow abdomen of male cicadas, which helps create a powerful echo effect.
When male cicadas congregate in trees to attract mates, their combined activity forms a discordant, raucous chorus heated by their sexual passions.
“Females also make sounds to attract males,” according to biologists at Arizona State University, “but they use their wings to make a clicking sound, rather than a high-pitched song like males.”
Cicadas cause a feeding frenzy for birds
When the last major influx of cicadas emerged, the so-called Brood
This all-you-can-eat buffet literally altered the behavior and diet of the birds studied that year.
Cardinals, blue jays, wrens, tufted tits, and woodpeckers abandoned their usual habits. Some avoided the suburban bird feeders that were once their favorites and others stopped eating caterpillars whose populations returned to the oak forests of North America.
‘Our findings really show how […] Plants, animals and all kinds of organisms are deeply connected,” said Zoe Getman-Pickering, a former researcher at George Washington University, about her team’s discovery, published in Science.
“When you change the behavior or population of one of those organisms,” he said, “the effects ripple through the ecosystem in surprising ways.”
A periodical cicada nymph is seen in Macon, Georgia, on Wednesday, March 27, 2024.
In the photo: the same cicada nymph on both fingers of a person.
Some researchers, including ecologist Brian Evans, hope to learn more about how birds communicate with each other as their songs change to alert others to the insect mix.
“This is an incredible opportunity to see how birds respond to the once-every-17-year emergence of cicadas,” Evans said. Smithsonian during the last great emergency.
‘Bird songs can change in response to the volume of cicada calls and […] “Nest success could change because of all these new foods in the environment,” he hypothesized.
Be careful with your pets!
Ironically, the same abundance that makes cicadas a feast for wild birds makes them a slight risk for pets.
Both dogs and cats can get sick from bugs, as they are prone to eating too many if left unsupervised.
In general, the insect’s tough exoskeleton is too harsh for these pets’ digestive systems, according to veterinarian Mark Freeman, who teaches at the Virginia Tech School of Veterinary Medicine.
‘Gorging on cicadas can cause varying degrees of GI [gastro-intestinal] discomforts such as vomiting and diarrhea, stomach and intestinal pain, and even the possibility of an obstruction if they ingest too many shells that they then cannot pass,” Freeman said. VT Campus News.
The veterinary professor advised that both dogs and cats can eat some cicadas as a treat.
Cicadas benefit soils, grasses and groundwater.
Research conducted by the American Geophysical Union after the 2021 Brood soil runoff and helping to filter and improve groundwater. penetration.
But those benefits only occurred at sites that were not disturbed by human activities, the researchers found.
“We saw infiltration rates decline over time as the holes filled with sediment and debris,” Indiana University geographer Ellen Bergan reported at the time, “but we saw a more rapid decline in infiltration in disturbed places.”
However, this aerating activity of cicada burrows is only one of the benefits.
Although young cicada “nymphs” feed parasitically on tree roots, the insects eventually return at the end of their life cycle.
“Their bodies serve as an important source of nitrogen for tree growth,” according to the National Wildlife Federation, with benefits similar to those of home lawns.